April 2025
The DDHS AGM took place on the 8th April 2025 in the Council Chambers in Dunbar Town House. The successful meeting was followed by short presentations by Secretary Pauline Smeed, Chairman Gordon Easingwood and committee member Dr James Herring. Below you will find 3 slides from Dr James Herring’s presentation, with accompanying text and links by the presenter. The May 2025 post will include slides from the other presentations above.
The two photos above show the cover of the 1935 brochure for Dunbar, with the cover showing Dunbar as a sporting town, featuring tennis, bowls, golf and swimming. The strapline is Dunbar for Health and Happiness. The brochure call Dunbar A health resort with an equable climate and notes that oppressive heat is unknown. Dunbar is also said to be easily accessible by rail i.e. 8 hours from London, 4 hours from York and 40 minutes from Edinburgh. Today, these times have been halved. This brochure is in the National Library of Scotland (NLS) and neither DDHS or the John Gray Centre have a paper copy. As the brochure is out of copyright, both now have a digital copy.
The photos above show a second slide from the presentation. There is an interesting use of the word Corporation to describe the tennis courts, as the term Town might be used more. The brochure tells us that Every year, hundreds of visitors enjoy their favourite sport on these courts and find the friendly spirit . You can read about today’s tennis club here. So, health, happiness and friendship, Dunbar had it all. The Bowling Green is the one that still sits on Station Road – see here for more information on today’s club. The brochure is quite gushing about the bowling green, stating that It is a beautiful place of resort, even for those who merely wish to sit in the sun and enjoy a quiet rest amid delightful surroundings... there is no place where fellowship is more happily found than here.
The 1937 brochure above is held in the John Gray Centre in Haddington but is not in the NLS nor is it held by DDHS. In practice, a Legal Deposit copy should have been sent to the NLS in 1937. This brochure has a new cover and a new strapline: DUNBAR The Bright and Bracing Resort. Would you be tempted to go to a town on the East coast of Scotland in the summer with the word Bracing in the title? Maybe it was aimed at hardy folk who would enjoy a walk along Winterfield Promenade on a summer’s day albeit with a strong NE wind in their faces on their way back to the town. Most of the brochure is a repeat of the 1935 issue although some of the adverts are different. In the introduction, the brochure refers to a holiday ensuring health and happiness to all visitors.
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